Day 1
HONOLULU
/ MAINLAND
U.S.A.
Leave
Honolulu
via air on an overnight flight to the mainland.
Day 2 MAINLAND
U.S.A.
We arrive on the mainland and transfer to an airport hotel for accommodations.
Day 3 MAINLAND
U.S.A.
/
LONDON
Today we continue via air over the
Atlantic
to
Europe
.
Day 4
LONDON
We arrive in
London
in the morning and transfer to our hotel. The balance of the day is at leisure to familiarize yourself with the city, or join your Royal Adventure Travel escort and visit Harrod’s Department Store and the famous food court if time permits, how about a ride on the London Eye, the largest ferris wheel in the world with a spectacular view of the city?
Day 5
LONDON
Full breakfast. Today sightseeing includes all the famous landmarks: Knightsbridge with Harrods, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames, Westminister Abbey,
Whitehall
’s mounted horse guards and the Prime Minister’s
Downing Street
, and Buckingham Palace. Highlights are a visit to
ST. PAUL
’S CATHEDRAL and the ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held. Time in the afternoon for independent activities. Optional excursions are available to the
Tower
of
London
and to
Windsor
Castle
. Tonight maybe a leisurely cruise on the River Thames.
Day 6
LONDON
/
PARIS
,
FRANCE
Full breakfast. Transfer to the railway station to board the EUROSTAR TRAIN to
Paris
, the splendid capital of a beautiful country. Tonight join you may wish to join an optional dinner in a local restaurant followed by an illumination drive of the city. (FB)
Day 7
PARIS
Buffet breakfast. Discover the world capital and admire its most famous sights: the Opera, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame Cathedral, and more…For a bird’s eye view take the elevator to the second floor of
Paris
’ most famous landmark, the
EIFFEL
TOWER
. An optional excursion to the lavish baroque
Palace
of
Versailles
is available. Tonight, a lively cabaret show might just be the ticket. (BB)
Day 8 PARIS /
LUCERNE
,
SWITZERLAND
Buffet breakfast. Enjoy a comfortable ride on the highway skirting
Fontainebleau
Forest
and the vineyards of
Burgundy
to the Swiss border and vistas of the Swiss Alps as you entry picture-book
Lucerne
. (BB, D)
Day 9
LUCERNE
Buffet breakfast. Admire Thorwaldsen’s LION MONMENT and the ornate patrician houses lining the cobbled streets of the walled
Old
Town
, then cross the famous covered
CHAPEL
BRIDGE
to the
Jesuit
Church
. Afterwards shop for Swiss watches and choose from our optional activities: climb a mountain by cable car, take a cruise on the fjord-like lake, or join a folklore parpty with yodeling and alphorn blowing. (BB)
Day 10
LUCERNE
/
LIECHTENSTEIN
/
INNSBRUCK
,
AUSTRIA
/
OBERAMMERGAU
,
GERMANY
Buffet breakfast. Morning break is in the pocket-sized principality of
Liechtenstein
. In
Innsbruck
take a pleasant stroll through quaint medieval lanes to Emperor Maximilian’s GOLDEN ROOF. Next stunning mountain views all along the road from the Austrian Tyrol to
Bavaria
and to picturesque
Oberammergau
. (BB, D)
Day 11
OBERAMMERGAU
Buffet breakfast. Today the highlight of your vacation: the original PASSION PLAY, held every ten years and performed by the inhabitants of
Oberammergau
. (BB, L, D)
Day 12
OBERAMMERGAU
/
RHINELAND
Buffet breakfast. North towards
Munich
and on to fabulous Rothenburg with its ramparts and towers, cobbled lanes, and 16th century houses. Next stop is
Heidelberg
,
Germany
’s oldest university town of Student Prince fame and renowned for its red-walled castle. (BB, D)
Day 13
RHINELAND
/
AMSTERDAM
,
HOLLAND
Buffet breakfast. Today’s highlight is a romantic RHINE CRUISE past castle-created cliffs, terraced vineyards, and trim, half-timbered towns. During your break in
Cologne
, visit the awesome twin-spired GOTHIC CATHEDRAL. Then continue through the Dutch region best known as the locale of A Bridge Too Far to
Amsterdam
, the Dutch capital. (BB, D)
Day 14
AMSTERDAM
Buffet breakfast. Enjoy a CANAL CRUISE to see the patrician mansions, gabled facades and humpback bridges, and hear about the history of the 700-year-old capital. Later you may wish to join an optional excursion to Volendam, (BB)
Day 15
AMSTERDAM
/
HONOLULU
Buffet breakfast. We leave
Amsterdam
via air to
Honolulu
.
EXTENSION:
ITALY
’S GREAT CITIES
Day 15
AMSTERDAM
/
ROME
Buffet breakfast. We leave
Amsterdam
via air to
Rome
. Time to rest or start exploring the
Eternal
City
on your own. Meet your tour director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of
Rome
’s lively restaurants. (D)
Day 16
ROME
Buffet breakfast. Sightseeing with your local guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the
Tiber
and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman Legions marched in triumph. Time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. (BB)
Day 17
ROME
/
PISA
/
LUCCA
Buffet breakfast. This morning, head north along the Tyrrhenian coastline through an area where many a town was founded at the very beginning of recorded history by the mysterious, highly civilized Etruscans. Stop in
Pisa
for lunch and to take picture of its
Leaning
Tower
, 180 feet high and no less than 12 feet out of the perpendicular. Then continue to
Lucca
, and enjoy an orientation walk and time to explore this pretty town on your own. (BB, D)
Day 18
LUCCA
/ SAN GIMIGNANO /
SIENA
/
FLORENCE
Buffet breakfast. A scenic day in
Tuscany
. Morning visit to hilltop San Gimignano, the most picturesque of
Italy
’s perfectly preserved medieval towns. On the Siena for a leisurely lunchtime break and a walk through ancient narrow lanes to beautiful PIAZZA DEL CAMPO, theater of the biannual Palio, Siena’s spectacular medieval-style-horse race. In the afternoon, drive along the
Chianti Road
leading from
Siena
due north to
Florence
. On the way, call a splendid
VERRAZZANO
CASTLE
to hear about the fine art of blending four types of grapes to obtain the famous Chianti Classico. Enjoy WINE TASTING, accompanied by local specialties. (BB, D)
Day 19
FLORENCE
Buffet breakfast. Follow your local guide to the
ACADEMY
OF
FINE ARTS
with Michelangelo’s celebrated David and the magnificent CATHEDRAL. Admire Giotto’s
Bell
Tower
, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture-studded
SIGNORIA SQUARE
. Afternoon free for independent sightseeing and browsing through the shops. Leather goods and gold jewelry sold by the ounce are attractive buys. Why not try the culinary delights of a fine Florentine restaurant tonight? (BB)
Day 20
FLORENCE
/
VERONA
/
VENICE
Buffet breakfast. Stop in
Verona
, setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to see Juliet’s Balcony and the Arena, an incredibly well preserved pink marble Roman amphitheater. Built in the 1st century A.D., it is now the magical venue for world-famous opera performances. Tonight you are in
Venice
, a powerful magnet for romantics and art lovers from around the globe. Enter in style by private boat. (BB)
Day 21
VENICE
Buffet breakfast. Morning sightseeing with your local guide features ST. MARK’S SQUARE and the Byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the
BRIDGE
OF
SIGHS
. Also watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Then enjoy
Venice
at your own pace of join an optional gondola ride. Tonight is your chance to sample in the city’s fine restaurants. (BB)
Day 22
VENICE
/
RAVENNA
/
ASSISI
Buffet breakfast. Along the coastline of the
Adriatic Sea
to
Ravenna
. Here see the famous mosaics in the 6th century Basilica of ST. APOLLINARIS IN CLASSE. In the afternoon arrive in
Assisi
. From
St.
Clare’s Church enjoy a pleasant walk with your local guide via pretty Piazza del Comune down to ST. FRANCIS’ BASILICA, the hub of a religious order devoted to the ideals of humility, forgiveness, simplicity, and love for all God’s creatures. Hear about monastic life and view the priceless frescoes adorning the walls of the church. (BB, D)
Day 23
ASSISI
/ ORVIETO /
ROME
Buffet breakfast. Following the
Tiber
Valley
, reach Orvieto, perched high atop a volcanic rock. Access, denied to many a would be conqueror through the ages, is easy for you. Ride a modern FUNICULAR right through the forbidding ramparts. Time for lunch, browsing through tempting shops in the lanes of Piazza del Duomo, and finding the right angle for a picture of the fabulous gothic façade of ORVIETO CATHEDRAL. In the late afternoon return to
Rome
. Why not join an optional festive dinner at one of
Rome
’s fine restaurants to bid farewell to the companions of a memorable Italian vacation? (BB)
Day 24
ROME
/ CONTINENTAL
U.S.A.
/
HONOLULU
Buffet breakfast. We leave
Rome
via air to the Continental U.S.A. and continue to
Honolulu
. If connecting flight is unavailable, we spend the night at an airport hotel on the mainland at an additional cost.